Female Nude, Study 1874

Albert Edelfelt completed this study of a nude female in November 1874, using oil paints on canvas. As a study, it is an artwork that has been produced using traditional fine art materials. Edelfelt’s handling of oil paint here has imbued the artwork with certain cultural values. In this, the careful gradations of tone and the building up of thin layers of paint convey the weight and volume of the model's body. We can see the artist's expert control of the medium, with its skilled tradition going back centuries. The artist seems to be challenging any traditional distinction between fine art and craft. The high level of control and detail, like that of a craftsman, has been elevated to something more complex. In so doing, Edelfelt is challenging those traditional distinctions between the hierarchy of fine art and craft. Here, the artist creates a study of a nude female form using traditional art materials, and applying them with a level of skill that can be elevated to something more complex.